I Suck At Religion

I guess you could say that yesterday was a religious day of sorts for me, which is pretty sad because I suck at religion. Heck, I still have original sin in the eyes of God. (And really, I still have yet to figure out how a little water scrubs out original sin. Is it like laundry? Is the water like Tide? Can you Shout it out?)

Regardless, last night Karen and I attended a wake for my friend's (Pam) husband's (Ed) brother. The wake was held at an interesting location: McMaster Funeral Home in Braintree. I have never been to this particular funeral home. For those who have never been to McMaster, the tiny funeral home is sandwiched between two residential houses on a main street. And of course, there is very limited parking at the funeral home.

Needless to say, it was an interesting time. Apparently, there is a picture of Karen dancing with the deceased at Pam's wedding. (I may need to clarify that statement... Karen was dancing with the deceased before he became deceased... not after.) As far as wakes go, it was the typical wake that I have been accustomed to: sign in book, pictures, casket, receiving line of family, people hanging around.

Obviously wakes are what they are... a means for people to pay tribute to the deceased. Having lost a child (Braden) myself, I can empathize with Ed's parents. Parents should not have to bury their own children no matter how old they are. I remember feeling the loss in the pit of my stomach when Braden passed away. It's definitely not a good feeling.

One of Ed's brothers (Joe) said something all too familiar while I was at the wake. He had mentioned the famous saying about how things happen for a reason. It seems always true that people always want or need explanations for things. I wonder if that is simply human nature to want an explanation, or the fact that people have faith in a higher power. (Do you think a bunch of flies are gathered together wondering why the other fly got squished by a fly swatter?)

Don't get me wrong. I felt the same way when Braden passed away. I agonized over the reasons as to why my baby had to pass away after only one week of life. I don't think I will truly ever have a reason for his passing. He just did... despite the omnipotent powers of the seemingly all-loving merciful God. What puts my mind at ease about it is what I rationalize to be the reason for his death. For me, my own internal rationalization makes accepting Braden's death easier. For all I know, Braden gave up his life for us like Jesus. How is anyone going to disprove that?

Anyway, it was an interesting wake. Following the wake, Karen and I went to J.J. Mulligans... which is right down the street from the funeral home... with my friends (Hot Amy and Jen) who had also attended the wake. I have not hung out with Hot Amy and Jen in quite some time. Truth be told, it was good to see them again.

I had a few laughs. Hot Amy appeared to be her quirky self again. The topics of discussion included things like her upcoming marriage preparations complete with possible eggplant costumes, her desire to wash my car, and Jen's trip to Egypt which she bonded over with our waitress. It was like old times again, which was nice. I've missed seeing them.

Unfortunately, Karen and I could not stay long at J.J. Mulligans. After all, we still had our baby daughter (Briana) to pick up at my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine) and my favorite brother-in-law (PJ). So naturally, to end the entire religious day of sorts, we asked Janine and PJ to be Briana's godparents... which was good because they already enjoy watching her. (And for anyone curious, they did agree.)

So all in all, it was an interesting day of thrilling religion.